Fallin Applauds Legislature for Passing Emergency Relief Measure

Friday

May 24, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Governor Mary Fallin Thursday applauded the Oklahoma Legislature for passing a bill transferring $45 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to the Emergency Fund. The funds will be administered by the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management and used to reimburse local governments for relief efforts related to natural disasters, including the May 19 and May 20 tornadoes.

“The tornadoes that struck several Oklahoma communities this week were absolutely devastating,” said Fallin. “We are currently in an all-hands-on-deck effort to recover and rebuild. My thanks go out to our Legislature for helping to ensure that communities hit hard by storm and tornado damage will have the support they need moving forward.“

Money from the fund will match 12.5 percent of federal dollars spent to reimburse counties, cities, and towns for infrastructure damages that occur under a presidential disaster declaration. It will also be used to cover extraordinary response costs incurred by state agencies while responding to natural disasters.

Senate Bill SB 249 passed unanimously in both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma State Senate. It was authored by Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman in the Senate and Representative Jason Nelson in the House.